Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: SLOTH (indolence; laziness) (01/29/15)
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TITLE: A Prayer about Worn Socks | Previous Challenge Entry
By Milly Born
02/05/15 -
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This morning, I dropped a pair of worn socks in the trashcan and suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. My Mama went to be with You three years ago, yet I could almost hear her sneering, “Your Aunt Terry is a lazy bum. She doesn’t mend holes in socks; she just throws them away.”
Am I lazy, Jesus? I know I’m not the diligent housewife my Mama modeled. To her, housekeeping was a way of life that began at fifteen, when her father sent her away to be a round-the-clock maid. A relentless sense of duty made her toil every day, all day long.
Her countertop was always cleared. She prepared breakfast and invariably had lunch ready in time for us to get back to school for the afternoon. She didn’t vacuum the house by pushing the handle of the vacuum cleaner; she removed the handle, put the smallest nozzle to the tube, and went down on all fours to make sure it swallowed every crumb and dog hair from the carpet. The day she dropped a frying pan, and boiling oil splattered against her legs, the first thing she did was mopping up the mess. By the time she got to the doctor’s, her legs were two big blisters. The house was always spotless, from fridge to bathroom, from cellar to attic. Every cupboard, drawer, and wardrobe was neatly organized. When my father lost his job, she got a job as a janitress at a local school, doing what she did best.
And at the end of each working day, she put up her crooked feet—the painful result of a lifetime spent standing—and took out her mending basket. She never idled.
Ever since I was twelve, Mama urged me to tidy up my own bedroom, "Because you're a girl and you must learn housekeeping." I hated it. Dirty, she wrote in the dust on my bookshelves.
I’m in my fifties now and have my own family. But I still detest cleaning. Please don't misunderstand me, Jesus—I love a tidy house. I just don't like the process of achieving it. Somehow, it always ends up last on my list of priorities. I prefer talking with my husband over a cappuccino or worshiping You. Visiting friends, sharing Your love, and praying with them. Hiking in the woods, working on my book, or studying my Bible. Chatting with my daughter, helping her doing homework, or reading a good book.
I vacuum quickly, never on all fours. I never iron. Our wardrobes are a random pile of loosely folded clothes. I wash the dishes once a day. Never in my life have I done a spring cleaning. And I don’t mend holes in socks.
The other day, my daughter asked, "Who's coming for dinner tonight?"
"Why, honey?" I stopped scrubbing the washstand.
"Because you're cleaning the house."
Jesus, it's true that some days, I loath the idea of unexpected visitors, with dirty dishes piled up, a smudged floor, three dogs in the hallway, and schoolbooks plus half the contents of my daughter's dressing table scattered in the dusty living room. But then You encourage me with the words that You spoke in Martha and Mary’s house, and I decide I'd rather be found amidst the clutter, radiant at Your feet, than exhausted and grumpy in a spick-and-span house.
I can't imagine dust or dirt in heaven. Mama must be having a good time.
By the way, can you please tell her that I love her—and assure her that I'm not a lazy bum?
Thank You, Jesus.
Amen.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
This article is nonfiction.
You can find the story of Jesus in Martha and Mary’s house in the Gospel of Luke 10:38-42.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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